Moon Township, Pa. - Robert Morris University coach Andrew Toole was at home early Sunday evening when he received an intriguing text message from RMU sports information director Jim Duzyk.

The text informed Toole that ESPNU wanted to interview him on air during one NIT Selection show.

It didn't seem like a real big deal because Toole knew the Colonials would get a berth in the National Invitation Tournament. It wasn't as if there were any drama in that regard, and it wasn't as if Robert Morris wouldn't be playing a high-major team in the NIT. So, again, no real drama in that regard, either.

"No problem. That will be great,'' Toole texted back.

Duzyk informed Toole that ESPNU would call him a few minutes after 9 p.m.

"That's interesting,'' Toole thought. "That's the start of the show.''

Toole got on Twitter and learned that the University of Kentucky would be unable to host a first-round NIT game because of a staff shortage caused by UK hosting second- and third-round games of the NCAA tournament.

"So I kind of started putting two and two together,'' Toole said.

He texted Duzyk back.

"I said, 'Do you think (ESPNU is) having me on this show so that they can get my reaction when they tell us Kentucky's coming here?''' Toole asked.

According to Toole, Duzyk laughed.

Toole then called assistant coach Joe Gallo.

"This could be happening,'' Toole told Gallo.

Around that same time, Colonial guard Karvel Anderson received a message informing him that Robert Morris would, in fact, play Kentucky Tuesday night in the NIT.

"OK, we're playing Kentucky,'' Anderson thought. "We'll go there and we might sneak out of there with a win.''

Also around that time, Colonial senior Russell Johnson, doing some course work with the television on, saw that Robert Morris would play Kentucky and thought he heard that the game would be played at Robert Morris' Charles L. Sewall Center.

"I was like, 'Are they coming to us?''' Johnson said.

He called classmate Velton Jones to tell him it seemed Kentucky was scheduled to play the Colonials at Robert Morris.

"I didn't believe him,'' Jones said.

"No, it's true,'' Johnson said. "Their gym is taken and they're probably on their way right now to come to Robert Morris.''

Anderson also learned more information.

A friend texted him that the Colonials would play Kentucky at the Sewall Center.

"I'm like 'Sewall where?''' Anderson said.

Quickly after that, the facts were in. Incredibly, the Colonials would play last season's NCAA champions Tuesday night at the Sewall Center, known around the RMU campus as "The Chuck.''

"When we found it was here, our whole team started getting excited and yelling and going crazy,'' Anderson said. "We feel that when we play at home we can beat anybody.''

"I couldn't believe they were actually coming here, to the Chuck,'' Jones said.

The Wildcats actually are indeed. Coach John Calipari, who graduated from Moon Area High School, is coming home for a visit. And bringing his team.

Michael Byrnes, another RMU assistant coach, played for and coached under Calipari at the University of Massachusetts. Byrnes had a bit of trouble digesting the news, too.

"My phone blew up as soon as it happened,'' Byrnes said. "Obviously, it's almost surreal that (we) would play coach Cal. I'm really looking forward to it. I'm excited that we're playing them here. It should be a great experience.''

"It's very shocking,'' Johnson said Monday before practice. "That's all I can say right now. It's very shocking.''

Shocking. Surreal. Incredible. Whatever. The Wildcats will be in Chuck's house. In the Colonials' house.

"It's going to be crazy,'' Anderson said. "I can't even imagine. I heard it's sold out. It's on ESPN. There's going to be media everywhere. It's going to be crazy.''

So add "crazy'' to that list that includes shocking, surreal and incredible.

"Absolutely,'' Toole said. "I mean the opportunity to be at home is incredible enough. Playing Kentucky just adds to that. The excitement now around the game has infinitely multiplied. I think that hopefully will excite our guys.''

Based on the players' reactions, that seems a given.

"The thing we're going to have to talk about is how to manage that a little bit - because we still have a game to play,'' Toole said before practice Monday. "And we still have preparation to do. And we still have to be focused. It will be a great experience if we do our job -- you know, if we show up and take things seriously and play the game the right way. Just because there's a circus going on around the game doesn't mean the game should turn into a circus.''

There's no question that the Colonials' opportunity to play the Wildcats at the Sewall Center has lifted the malaise that surrounded this team in the first hours or so following their loss to Mount St. Mary's March 9 at home in the semifinals of the Northeast Conference Tournament. That wrenching defeat cost Robert Morris a chance to play in the NCAA tournament for the third time in five seasons.

The Colonials, knowing they would play in the NIT, returned to practice three days after the Mount St. Mary's game.

"We came back and didn't talk about anything,'' Toole said. "We just tried to work out. Get in the gym, make some shots, compete a little bit, get up and down the floor. Nothing crazy. Nothing new. Just get back into the gym again.

"Then we practiced (last) Thursday, and at the end of practice we talked about how we have the opportunity to still play and that everybody who's on this team claims they want to be in a uniform somewhere next year -- whether it's at Robert Morris or having the opportunity to play someplace else after school and why wouldn't we take advantage of being able to practice for our next opponent. Obviously, we're not over the (Mount St. Mary's) loss, but if we can manage the disappointment and maybe use that to help drive us, our next opponent's going to be disappointed as well. And if we can get over our disappointment quickly, maybe we'll find ourselves in a situation where we can take advantage of someone else.''

Well, the Colonials certainly have that opportunity now.

"Clearly,'' Toole said, laughing.

The Wildcats after the three previous seasons combined had so many players drafted by professional teams that a pro team could stock its roster just with former UK players.

It's kind of like Tuesday night you could go to this college game and an NBA game would break out.

"They have some incredible talent,'' he said. "They have some absolutely incredibly gifted basketball players. That provides a lot of concern. It creates a lot of issues for you. We're going to talk to our guys about maybe having our teamwork be better than their talent. As good a team as they are, as talented as they are, they've had some ups and downs. So we have to realize what our strengths are and play to those strengths and then realize what their strengths are and try to limit those strengths.''

The short-term buzz created by the Wildcats' visit to the Sewall Center is one thing. But one wonders - in the longer term - if Kentucky playing at the Sewall Center might help ease the Colonials' scheduling difficulties. Because of their six-season string of success, the Colonials have a lot of trouble getting teams to agree to play at Robert Morris.

Would other teams think, "Well, if Kentucky can go there, why shouldn't we?''

"No, it won't help,'' Toole said. "It won't at all. This is an extremely unique situation. If there were more high major Division I coaches who were from Moon Township that might happen, but as far as I know there's only one -- unless we can convince (Arizona coach) Sean Miller to come and say it's by proxy because he's from Beaver County.''

It's believed that Calipari, because Kentucky is a No. 1 seed in one of the four NIT pods and couldn't play at home, had a choice of who and where to play in the first round. And that he picked the Colonials and Moon Township.

"I'm going to thank coach Calipari, to be honest with you, because it's a great thing for us,'' Toole said. "There aren't a lot of guys in Division I who would do what he's doing. They would maybe find an alternate site in Kentucky or be creative about something. It's an incredible opportunity that we have in front of us, and I think a lot of it is due to him.''

The other three No. 1 seeds in the NIT are Virginia, Alabama and Southern Mississippi. None of those, if playing at Robert Morris, would generate near the buzz that was rampant on the RMU campus Monday.

"Kentucky, if not the elite, is one of a handful of all-time elite programs in college basketball,'' Toole said. "Not to mention the fact that they are the defending champion (and) not to mention the fact that in the past three years I think they've had about 14 of 15 guys drafted into the NBA. It's just the things that they do and what the name 'Kentucky' symbolizes. That automatically catapults this entire thing into a different stratosphere.''

The Colonial players seem to realize that.

"You can never replace that (Mount St. Mary's) loss because we didn't accomplish what our goal was,'' Anderson said, "but this is definitely an opportunity for us to redeem ourselves, you might say, and get that taste out of our mouth. And then to do it in front of our fans makes it that much sweeter.''

"Being able to play another game takes some of the sting (of that loss) out of it,'' Johnson said. "We have another chance to change what happened and get some things done. And it's a lot better than going (to UK) and being outnumbered by 20,000 (fans).''

Tuesday night's game almost without doubt will be the final college game for Johnson and Jones, two of the best players to wear Colonial uniforms.

Pretty good send-off?

"The best thing about it is, if they would win, you just played your last game (and it was) at home,'' Johnson said. "And against a high major team. The part about staying at home is the best.''

"Oh, my gosh,'' Jones said. "You probably couldn't think of any other way you'd want to go out. You're on your home court and you're playing the University of Kentucky. It's ridiculous.''

NIT PICKS: The Wildcats have other local ties on their coaching staff. Assistant John Robic graduated from North Hills High School and was the head coach at Youngstown State (1999-2005). And assistant coach Orlando Antigua played for and coached at Pitt ... Kentucky practiced at the Sewall Center Monday evening ... The Colonials and Wildcats had two common opponents this season. On Nov. 23, Kentucky beat visiting LIU Brooklyn (from the NEC), 104-75. On Feb. 2, the Colonials won at LIU Brooklyn, 60-57. On Dec. 20, Robert Morris lost at Arkansas, 79-74. On March 2, after the Wildcats had lost potential lottery pick Nerlens Noel to a knee injury, Kentucky lost at Arkansas, 73-60.